Dark Uprising
by FeYnMaNFAN01
Summary: MAJOR FAR FROM HOME SPOILERS! As the world's only active avenger, Peter Parker is the one left to bear the burden of saving the world. This time from itself while now hated and on the run from both the law and the criminal underworld with many other problems that he must fix for himself. Based on Ends of the Earth, Back in Black, and other anticipated storylines from the comics.
1. The Aftermath

Saying that Peter Parker was having a bad day would be an understatement.

No, he just had his identity revealed to the whole world and was framed as a murderous terrorist at the same time by the supposedly dead Mysterio. His day was going about has terribly as it could possibly be.

Before the crowd that surrounded the lamp post he was on could even register the fact that he had moved, he grabbed MJ and took off towards his apartment quickly enough to remain unseen but not quick enough to hurt Michelle.

When he reached his apartment, he set MJ down on the roof while he jumped through the window (that was closed) to his bedroom and ran straight through his also closed door to the living room, startling both Aunt May and Happy who were looking at the TV in shock before May ran over to hug him.

"Peter, what's going on!?"

"I'll explain later, but we have to leave right now! I have MJ hiding on the roof; we're getting out of here!"

"Okay, I'll get the car, and—"

"No", Peter interrupted, listening to his newly developed and improved spider sense. "There's already an ignition bomb that's been planted!"

"How do you know this?" Happy asked.

"There's no time to explain! Listen, we have 10 minutes at most before someone just decides to storm or bomb the apartment. Between all of New York and the entire planet's criminal underworld, we have a lot of people that'll be coming after us. Happy, I need you to get the jet and contact Mrs. Stark to have us stay at her house. May, you pack everything for yourselves and MJ and contact her parents to say that the news was a lie and that you'll be hiding out somewhere to stay safe—don't tell her where that is for everyone's own safety. I'm going to get my spider-tech and other equipment prepared."

The two nodded and began doing as Peter instructed. In the meantime, Peter ran back to his room through the destroyed door and packed all of his suits—including the Iron Spider and the Stealth Suit. He then quickly removed all remote electronics from the suits so that no one could track them.

"Aunt May, don't pack any clothes for me! There's not enough time, and Mrs. Stark already has some there for me!", he lied. There was truly an entirely different reason that he didn't want her packing any clothes for him.

"Alright, the jet should be here in a couple of minutes, Pete", Happy announced. "How are you holding up?"

"As awful as you could expect. Did you call Mrs. Stark?"

"Yeah, she says that they're all ready for you. I'm sure that Morgan will be really glad to see you, at least."

Happy's mention of Morgan just made Peter look down in regret for what he was really planning to do. However, he'd have to tell them about that at another time and needed to make sure that everyone was safe first.

"You encrypted the call and talked to her in code, right?"

"Of course", he said before placing his hand on Peter's shoulder to try to comfort him. "Everything's going to be alright, kid."

"No, it's really not! With how active I've been, literally every criminal on the planet wants my head! Sooner or later, if not already, they're going to realize that killing me is much easier said than done! I'm going to have to completely cut off all contact with just about everyone I've ever known to keep them safe! My whole damn life is completely and utterly screwed!"

At this point, Peter didn't know whether he just wanted to break down crying or jump through the apartment wall out of rage and hunt down anyone that had a shot at hurting his friends and family. None of the trauma that he's pushed himself through could have emotionally prepared him for being framed as a murderer and having his identity exposed to the whole world.

"Pete. I know it's tough. There's no real way to get around how hard this is going to be for all of us. But I know that you'll find a way to make it all right. You'll find a way to undo all of this. You're one of the smartest people on the planet."

_'The reverse uno card!' _Peter immediately thought to himself.

His next plans on, however, were interrupted by the sound of a very loud jet engine quickly approaching the roof of the apartment.

"May, is everything ready?" Peter asked while carrying a suitcase with all his suits and equipment in it.

"Yeah, that's everything. I called Michelle's mother, and she's not too thrilled about the situation to say the least." May said while giving him a tight hug.

"I know. Come on, I'll bring you and Happy up to the roof."

Peter then used his wall crawling ability to stick her to his body while he grabbed Happy with his free arm and jumped out the window up to the roof.

"So, what's the plan, Peter?" MJ asked, obviously a little anxious of the situation but mostly keeping herself calm and collected.

"We're going to be staying at Pepper Stark's house until everything gets cleared up and you guys are safe." Peter informed her.

"I'll carry your stuff. You guys get in the jet", Happy told everyone.

As they walked into the jet, MJ held gave Peter a concerned look before she held his hand tightly and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

* * *

To say that Quentin Beck's day was going great would be an understatement.

He just pulled off his greatest illusion yet to fool Parker that he was dead and the world that Spider-Man had murdered him, and now the entire planet believed that he was history's greatest superhero. Just as he had planned.

The gunshot wound that he suffered still hurt immensely, but that didn't stop him from hosting a party with the rest of his colleagues to celebrate the success of their plan.

He stepped up to his podium with a small grunt of pain to deliver his victory speech.

"Friends. We did it. Not only did we make Mysterio a household name, we also completely ruined Peter Parker in the process! The whole world is looking for retribution, and now it's time to profit! Ladies and gentlemen, meet our new sponsor and ally that will allow us to crush Spider-Man once and for all and dominate the world's superhero community for decades to come..."

A man in a nice black suit stepped out from behind the curtains to reveal his face that has now become widely known for his rapidly expanding tech and energy organization that's quickly rivaling Stark Industries. He greets the cheering crowd with a seemingly friendly smile.

"... Norman Osborn!"

"Now, all of you. I have a proposition to make." He says with a sinister smile.

* * *

Please tell me what you think of the story thus far and if my writing style is okay.

I plan on getting to the intense parts of the story in a couple of chapters. Also, the BAMF Peter Parker that we got in Far From Home will continue here because he was just way too awesome in the movie.


	2. Plans Are Made

Just some notes to clear any confusion for some of Peter's powers:

In the comics, he's outran a city block-leveling explosion, which is way faster than the speed of sound, while carrying a fully grown man, and his marathon speed is stated to be over 250 mph.

For his piercing durability, I took that from the MCU, where you can see him actually tank multiple bullets and shrug them off in Far From Home. I'll also be basing his strength and blunt durability levels off of what we've seen in the MCU, so they'll vary from moment to moment.

MCU Spider-Man's powers have been made very inconsistent (the difference from Infinity War to Endgame and then to FFH is a perfect example of that), so you'll see his strength level fluctuate from time to time from his FFH levels (where he can lift close to his comic level of a few hundred tons at most) to his Infinity War levels (where he's way above his comic level and is around MCU Hulk-level if not higher with some feats).

However, he's still much more powerful than what people give him credit for, and I'm not the type of person that understates Spider-Man's capabilities, which is what most authors do when it comes to fanfiction since they usually don't know Spider-Man and his powers that well.

Anyways, I hope that you enjoy the story. Please tell me if there's anything about my writing that I can improve.

* * *

Pepper immediately felt a surge of relief upon seeing the jet arrive safely. The entire day had been a nightmare of a PR and safety mess. With that being said, seeing Peter and everyone else in one piece put a huge smile on her face (especially when Morgan excitedly ran over to hug him).

"I really can't thank you enough for letting them stay here, Mrs. Stark. I really appreciate it."

"No problem Peter. I'm always glad to help you out."

"This is my girlfriend, Michelle Jones." Peter said while gesturing to her.

"You can call me MJ", she said with a surprisingly large cheerful smile that Peter had never seen on her before as she shook Pepper's hand. "I'm a huge fan of yours and wrote an essay about you regarding the changing gender roles of 21st century America for English."

At this, Pepper turned to Peter with an evident smile on her face. "You chose right, Pete. I like her already."

"I know, right?"

For the first time in her life, MJ couldn't hold in a blush and had to do her best to hide it, which brought Peter to smile for the first time since his identity was revealed.

"Anyways, come on in!"

"Thanks. Hey, is there somewhere that I can place my suits?"

"Over there on the table is fine. It's actually where Tony did all of the calculations for time travel."

Peter walked over to the table, with Morgan excitedly following him to see his other Spider-Man suits as MJ looked around in the adjacent room.

Upon placing them down, Morgan was quick to examine the stealth suit, which she had never seen before.

"What's this?" She asked, pointing at the large hole that went clear through the front of the suit on the chest area.

"This? It's where I got shot by a really powerful anti material bullet when Mysterio first ambushed me."

"You got shot!?" Everyone yelled out.

"Uhh, yeah. Why's that so surprising?"

"How on earth did you survive!?" Aunt May worryingly asked.

"Well, bullets don't really hurt me. Actually, they do hurt A LOT, but they don't do any actual damage to my body. They're just very painful, which is part of the reason why I prefer to dodge them most of the time. Only high-tech powerful munitions can do damage to me. Bullets like the one I was shot with only leave bruises."

This information very heavily scared Aunt May. She knew that he was tough, but the idea that he had been shot before and never thought to tell her about it made her extremely anxious despite now knowing that he apparently has a resistance to bullets.

"Why didn't you ever tell me this!?"

"I thought that it was common knowledge! I mean, have you ever seen me getting injured by a gunshot despite there being thousands of bullets flying at me?"

"I thought that you dodged them all with your Peter Tingle!"

"Peter Tingle?" Pepper teasingly asked Peter.

Peter groaned at yet another person knowing about that embarrassing name "Hey, it was her idea—not mine! Anyways, I dodge most bullets, but I sometimes let a couple hit me so that I can keep moving forward instead of dancing around all of the time."

"Just… please don't keep stuff like this from me again, please?"

At this, Peter took in a deep breath before replying. "I promise. I should probably tell you that I have superhuman resistance to any and all hazards even up to asphyxiation and hypoxia."

"Is that why I've never seen you get sick since the bite? You have a resistance to that as well?"

"Yeah, something like that, but that's where things go off the rails."

"Hey, your rooms are ready, Peter. Why don't you go ahead and bring your stuff to them?" Pepper suggested.

"Yeah. About that…" Peter started while scratching the back of his head, leaving everyone with a confused expression before they realized what he meant.

"No!" Every other person in the room responded at the exact same time.

"Yes! Listen, I can't stay here! I've made enough enemies that they're likely not scared of attacking this place should they find out I'm here! I also need to go after Beck! If I'm going to restore my secret identity, I'm going to need his tech to do it, and I need to expose him for who he truly is to the public!"

Before Aunt May could speak up, Pepper interjected. "No way! There's been no word from S.H.I.E.L.D or Nick Fury, meaning that they're 100% going to send an army after you! Listen, I know that you're upset and want to take care of things as soon as possible, but this is just crazy!"

"Just last week, I single-handedly defeated Beck and his army of drones that were designed to protect the Earth from future Thanos-level alien attacks by Mr. Stark himself and upgraded by Beck, and I destroyed half of it in the process! I'll be fine!"

"Do you even have a plan for all of this!?" Aunt May asked.

"Of course I do! I'm going to use the reverse uno card!"

At this, MJ nodded in understanding "Yeah, that is a good plan" while everyone else looked dumbfounded, having no idea as to what he meant.

Peter sighed at this and began explaining. "It's a meme, guys. The plan is simple. I track Beck down, kick his—" he caught himself when he remembered that Morgan was there "—butt again, have him arrested and exposed, and then use his tech to create some illusions of myself so that people think that Peter Parker and Spider-Man are two different people! I can deal with whatever people that come after me on the way without trouble, and my jogging speed is close to 250 miles per hour when I don't worry about damaging the ground, so I don't need any help with transportation! This should all just take a week or two at most and then I'll be back here to celebrate!"

Everyone else really didn't want him to go, but they knew that he was right. There would have been no way to prove that Peter Parker and Spider-Man were two different people, and it would have taken months to create illusion technology on Beck's level of perfection.

"I'm going to make a new suit and head out. I can take care of food and water no problem while I'm out there, so don't worry about me. I promise that I'll be back, and I'll make sure that all of this will just be a bad memory. I'm leaving tomorrow morning because it'll take a while to sew the suit."

Everyone reluctantly relented to his plan. However, they made damn sure that he'd leave healthy and relatively happy, meaning that they essentially forced him to eat and drink plenty as well as spend a few hours doing something enjoyable instead of working on his next suit.

* * *

In the morning, Peter woke up to see MJ lying beside him, holding him in her sleep.

Pepper and Aunt May said that they could sleep in the same bed as long as they didn't get up to any "funny business", which they agreed to and kept their promise. They just wanted to spend as much time together as possible before Peter left to track down Beck.

He woke MJ up with a soft kiss to her temple while stroking her hair to which she groaned out of both annoyance at being woken up and happiness at the affection.

"I'm really sorry, MJ, but we've gotta get up. I can't wait forever to go get Beck."

"Yeah, I know. I just wish that you could stay longer."

"Me too."

When they got up and walked downstairs while holding hands, they were greeted with everyone else already awake and waiting for them.

"Are you sure about this, Pete?" Happy asked with concern.

"You know I am."

"Peter… You're going to be all alone on this. You'll have no backup against the entirety of the criminal underworld and likely the law. It'll be you against the entire world. I just want you to think this all through again to make sure that this is what you want to do."

Peter took a quick second to look down in contemplation before confidently raising his head and speaking with a firm voice that he had never once used before, finding a confidence that he never knew he had.

"If it's me versus the entire world, then the world better being its A-game… Because that's exactly what I'm going to do. I'm done playing the underdog. Pretending that I'm the little guy. I'm not just Peter Parker, some wimpy high schooler from Queens. I. Am. Spider-Man… And there's nothing on this planet that can stop me from protecting the people I care about. So I'm gonna go out there, find Beck, show the world what he really is once and for all, and restore my secret identity."

Happy was at a loss of words from this. It wasn't that long ago that he remembered this person in front of him being just a kid that could barely even count as a superhero. Now he was... this.

Tony said that he found Peter for his brains and power but kept him for his courage and moral compass that could only be rivaled by Steve's. He believed that Peter was the perfect combination of them and why he believed that Peter would grow up to be the best out of all of them. This was a perfect example of that being displayed.

He really wished that Tony was here to see this. He would have loved to see the proud look on his face when he saw the hero that Peter had become and how he's turned out exactly as Tony had hoped.

"Now, if you excuse me," Peter began while grabbing a suitcase off of a table "I have a new suit to try on," He finished as he walked to the bathroom.

When he walked out, everyone was surprised at the display. An almost perfectly sewed black Spider-Man suit with a white spider on the front and back as well as white eye lenses that offered an intimidating contrast between the black suit and the shape of the lenses themselves being just as intimidating."

"Uh, are you trying to scare people away or something?" Pepper asked with a raised eyebrow.

"What do you mean? I thought that it looks really cool."

"Yeah, Peter, it looks like you're trying to make people cower in fear." Aunt May added.

"It does? I made it black to hide myself from satellites if I don't make too much noise. I didn't mean to make it look imposing."

"Whatever, it still looks good. Just try to avoid being seen in public like that because that won't work well for PR." Pepper advised.

"Yeah, sure. Anyways, I'm off", Peter stated while walking out of the door, with everyone else following him.

"Try to make sure that all communication is secured. And if I come back too soon, start shooting because that's not me. Also, remember this: reality is much more malleable to the human mind than you think. Especially when it comes to Mysterio. Don't trust the news or anyone that comes by. Mysterio can flawlessly impersonate anyone on the planet and make it seem like someone is dead even if they aren't."

"Yeah, I'll remember that." Pepper replied

"Anyways, thank you for taking care of them for me. I wouldn't be able to live with myself knowing that they were in danger."

"Once again, I'm always happy to help you out in any way I can."

"Happy, I'm still not sure how I feel about you being around my Aunt, but I can't thank you enough for saving my friends and helping me when I screwed up with Beck."

"Hey, you saved all of us. Remember that, Peter. Also, remember. Tony never second guessed you, so don't start second guessing yourself. "

"You got it, Happy."

"By, Peter! I'll miss you!" Morgan said while giving him a hug.

"I'll miss you too. Make sure to behave and be nice to MJ for me, okay?"

"I will!"

Peter then walked up to Aunt May and hugged her.

"Peter, I just want you to know that no matter what happens, I'll always love you. You've been like a son to me. I'm very proud of the person that you've become, and I know that Ben would be crying out of pride and joy if he could see you now."

"I know, and I love you too, May. Thank you for taking care of me all these years. You've always been there for me. Even when I was acting like a jerk and lied to you about what I was doing."

After saying goodbye to her, he walked over to MJ to say goodbye.

"MJ. I'm really going to miss—" Peter started before he was interrupted by her bringing him into a deep kiss.

"Just come back, loser. I'll be really pissed if you don't."

"You know I'll be back, MJ."

"Just…", she started before giving him a quick kiss "...come back safely. I love you."

At this, Peter had the biggest smile of his life.

"I love you too, MJ", he said while hugging her tightly, bringing a smile to everyone watching.

He then put on his mask and began to prepare to start running eastward.

"One more thing", MJ began, causing Peter to turn back towards her.

"Go get 'em, tiger."

Peter smiled and replied "You got it" before taking off running as fast as a commercial jet, quickly escaping from their sight to fight a battle that he had no way of knowing would end up so much more complicated than he first thought.

* * *

Norman Osborn was a very happy man, even if he didn't show it out loud. The one potential threat to his plans, Spider-Man, had been made a public enemy that everyone around the globe was rallying against and just anxiously waiting for a group to take him down. Exactly what he wanted.

Not only that, but he had Spider-Man's arguably most powerful enemy, Quentin Beck, by his side. His mastery of illusion combined with Osborn's resources would give them complete control over the public's information and allow them to infiltrate facilities once thought impossible to fool.

All was going even better than he had hoped, and there was even more to come as he stood before the crowd of his closest associates and the group of Mysterio to announce his newest plans.

"For far too long, the superhero community has been controlled by those with foolish ideas of protecting others. Of profitlessly using resources to help those that would be better off fending for themselves."

"We've seen what happens even with their involvement. Tens of millions died from the fallout of The Blip! Families torn apart, people dying in the skies and in the streets all because those so-called 'heroes' couldn't even do their worthless, pathetic jobs correctly!"

"I say that things have been done wrong by the status quo for far too long! And with that status quo being reduced to a single high schooler—a simple CHILD that's now hated by the whole world, it's now our turn to shuffle the deck! Our turn to decide who the enemies are, how we deal with them, and how we profit from it all! We've been getting the short end of the stick for far too long, and now is the time for change! Now is our chance to be the good guys and 'save' people however we please! We will dominate not just the superhero world, but the civil world as well! We will finally gain complete control over the entire planet! That is why I am beyond excited to present to you our newest plan…"

"... Project: Dark Avengers."


	3. Progress

Sorry about the lack of updates. I've had some school stuff to focus on, and I've been too tired to focus on writing properly due to some sleep problems, and it's not good to force yourself to write something. So, updates are probably going to be heavily infrequent and inconsistent.

In case it's not clear based off of context clues:

"Hello" = Talking, which means either to oneself or to another person

'_Hello' = Thinking, which means from whoever's perspective_

I'd like to know what people think of the way that I structure conversations. I tend to avoid adding details and explicitly telling people who is talking in the middle of the conversation. I like to leave most of the actions that the characters do during the conversation up to the imagination of the reader. I also prefer to just leave conversations as a back-and-forth kind of exchange so that it's easy for the reader to tell who is speaking without me having to constantly remind everyone, which can get annoying in my opinion.

If it comes across as lifeless or bland, then I'd really appreciate feedback on how to fix that.

Also, my knowledge of computers is very limited, so I'm sure that I made some really dumb mistakes in that part of the chapter.

Either way, I hope that you enjoy.

* * *

Peter jumped off of the bottom of a commercial airliner that he had snuck onto once he saw the city lights of Prague.

He would have definitely preferred not spending the last 8 or so hours lying down on cold metal in sub-zero temperatures in an atmosphere thin enough to kill normal humans in minutes, but that's what Parker Luck gets you.

To avoid being detected, he waited to deploy the Web-Wings until he was only one thousand feet above the ground, which was when he realized…

"Oh, come on!"

… they were essentially frozen thanks to a buildup of water vapor that condensed and froze in the fabric, resulting in him simply hitting the ground while landing on his feet, resulting in two small foot-shaped craters.

'_Could the universe just please not plot against me for at least 3 seconds?'_, he thought to himself as he examined the sewn-in boots of his suit that were now torn apart by the impact of the fall.

Not only that, but the wings not working left him in the middle of a field and having no way to gain his bearings due to not having a birds-eye view over the city. Combine that with the fact that it was the middle of the night in the country, and he's left audibly cursing his bad luck and lack of foresight for these things.

* * *

Nick Fury walked down the halls of the U.S-based S.H.I.E.L.D headquarters very, very annoyed as he was speaking to an agent walking beside him.

"So, you're telling me that Peter Parker, a 16-year-old kid, mind you, has completely escaped from the eyes of S.H.I.E.L.D?" He asked, very clearly frustrated.

"I'm sorry, sir, but he's not just a regular kid! He's a Tier-6 enhanced teen that's smart enough to be personally handpicked by Tony Sta—"

"What are we?"

"Uhh... I'm afraid I don't under—"

"WHAT ARE WE? The most advanced intelligence organization on the planet? Or a bunch of braindead morons for Peter Parker to dick around with? I don't give a damn about his powers or how smart he is. That little motherfu—"

Before he could finish the word, Maria Hill walked from behind him and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Hey, Nick, Ross is here to speak with you."

At this, a frown formed on Fury's face as he turned back to face the agent that he was speaking to.

"Listen. I don't care if you have to pull something from 10 feet up your ass to find him. Bring me Parker within a week. Use whatever force is necessary to bring him in alive or dead. Make sure the entire world knows his face better than their own mother's and to contact us whenever they see him. You got it?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good", Fury finished before following Hill down the halls.

"You know, it's only been a day." She spoke. "It's not like we're going to just find him instantly."

"No, but we should sure as hell find him as soon as we possibly can. He's a threat to our entire operation if we don't get our act together. How's Project: Arachnite going?"

"It's going very quickly and smoothly. Mac Gargan and his brother have both accepted, and everything's been greenlit by the project manager. As long as things go well with Ross, we should have two Tier-7s ready to deploy within the next two days."

"Just what I wanted to hear."

After that, the two continued walking down the halls in silence until they opened the glass door to a room and were met with the man himself, Thaddeus Ross.

"Ah, nice to finally meet you, Director Fury." He greeted as he shook Fury's hand. "I heard about the situation with Parker, and while I would like to offer my support, I'm going to need something from you." He said as he walked around the room.

"And what's that?"

"You'll have to assign me as head of your new program. I want full authority over all operations conducted by the Avengers."

"You think that I'm gonna give you control over anything more than an ice cream truck after the shitstorm that your little accords caused?"

"I was merely serving the will of the public, Director. It was because of Captain Rogers that things became violent. Now that he's gone and the rest of the avengers are either dead, retired, or otherwise absent, we'll be the ones to give orders right from the get-go. We won't have that same issue."

"Is that before or after you decide to lock them up and not let them do their jobs?"

At this, Ross grew more frustrated and impatient as he walked up to Fury.

"Do you want your team or not!? I may have lost my position as Secretary from The Blip, but I have a lot more to bargain with than you do! My proposition is final! Full authority or no team at all!"

"Oh, is that right? What exactly do you have to bargain over? As far as I can tell, you're out of a job and a reputation for taking apart our planet's only defense measure. It seems to me that you ain't got shit, Ross.

"I still have damn near unlimited connections with the military. I can get you whatever and whoever you want for the team."

"Great. I want unlimited access to those connections. Starting with Blonsky."

The mention of Abomination, the monster that forced him to make an alliance with Bruce Banner, made him very confused. They had to spend billions of dollars on an extremely powerful cryovault just to contain him alone, so he was the last person that Ross would ever expect Fury to ask for.

"Why on Earth would you ever want that maniac anywhere around other people? He'd be nothing more than a security threat!"

"Not if we condition him right. Drug him up and put a shock collar on him. That'll keep him from rampaging. Norman Osborn will take care of the expenses. I can give you authority over the team, but you'll have to give me all of the resources and people that I want for it and follow some basic ground rules that you'd expect. You understand?"

"Fine. But if they're too restrictive, then I'm calling it all off."

"Good. Now, what about the Gargan brothers?"

"I'll make sure that no one but you and the lab team know of the specifics. The government will just think that they're some other freaks like the others."

"Then that'll be all. I'll update you on the progress of the team. In the meantime, you get Blonsky ready to be released." Fury stuck his hand out to Ross' and shook it. "I'm glad that we could work this out."

"Likewise, Fury. I'll tell the boys to get him a new container ready."

Ross then walked out of the room, followed by Maria Hill walking in as Fury turned to her with a smug smile.

"Told you he's just a little fiddle. He'll have about as much control over them as a cockroach does under my boot, and he'll be too dumb to even know it."

"That's great to hear. I also have some more good news. Mac and Dan are both at the facility and waiting for procedure."

"Perfect. Make sure that Dan gets Serum 2 and has authority over Mac and the manhunt. Is MIRMA ready?"

"Yes, all tests are concluded, and the weapon is ready for use."

"Initiate the procedure tomorrow morning. I also want the entire Spider Slayer army on standby and outfitted with all of their weapons and equipment. Dismissed"

"Yes, sir", she responded as she left the room.

* * *

For Peter, getting through the city was very annoying.

He can see in the dark much better than most people, but night vision isn't exactly one of his powers. That means that he had to rely on his spider sense and hearing to get to the city and traverse it.

Thankfully, the spider sense also tells him how to avoid security cameras and keeps him from being seen, which is something that he wished he could explain scientifically.

However, a lot of the time, he'd have to run or jump extremely quickly, which would result in fragments of dirt or stone getting into what's left of his shoes, which was extremely irritating.

Then something that he saw as he jumped from one roof to another forced him to stop and observe.

Groups of people gathered around a large portrait on a wall. The kind that he would often see of his former mentor.

Only this time, it was honoring Mysterio.

He could see crowds of people placing various decorations to commemorate Quentin Beck and others calling for Peter Parker to be brought to justice or just flat-out killed. His knowledge of the Czech language was very limited, but it was easy to guess what they were saying, considering the fact that they were burning effigies of Spider-Man and there were pictures of his face everywhere.

He's always had some hatred placed on him. His powers weren't nearly as elegant-looking as those of the other Avengers, he was the only one to hide his face and identity from the public, and he did periodically screw up and cause some trouble early on as Spider-Man, so noticeable backlash was something that he expected despite most of the public being supportive of him.

However, while he never let any hatred of him get in the way of doing what's right, it always hurt on the inside. Sacrificing a lot of the very limited time that he had as a kid in order to help others only to then have them return the kindness by calling him a menace or a freak would always hurt.

And now at least 98 percent of the entire world hated him and wanted him dead. Even if he were to restore his secret identity and prove that everything was just a bunch of lies, much of that resentment would continue.

When such an incredibly strong hatred envelops someone, it sticks with them like a scar. They might know that there's no reason to hate the person and no longer act explicitly hostile, but on the inside, there's going to be a permanent prejudice. They're unlikely to ever truly accept that person on the inside.

Peter might not be the most experienced person when it comes to life as a whole, but he's extremely intelligent and understands the human mind very well from a psychological perspective. He knows that hatred is typically a very unfounded emotion based on animal instincts—fear.

That was when Peter realized that he was on to something.

Peter deduced that Beck didn't frame him just to make everyone believe that he's an awful person. Beck framed Peter in a way that would make everyone afraid of him. Fear is the ultimate catalyst and fertilizer for hatred and anger.

Beck made it look like Peter killed a powerful, righteous hero and was planning on world domination with an army of weaponized drones to scare everyone. He made everyone think that Peter was a threat to them.

He realized that the chaotic state of the world would make everyone immediately grasp to ideas of good and evil. And people would instantly fall for some grandiose, flashy, powerful hero like Mysterio after the ugliness of Thanos and the dispersal of the Avengers.

'_So, Beck wanted to make himself appear as an idol against me to bend the public to his favor. Was this his plan from the start? Was he trying to make himself loved or make himself… a martyr! He could have just made everyone think that I killed him and that's it, but he decided to go ahead and make me seem like an active threat with an evil plot. This is clearly social engineering built for the long term! He has another plan up his sleeve, and it's a big one. Let's see…'_

Peter now knew that Beck's plan was clearly more than just ruining his life. It was something that required worldwide alteration of public opinion.

'_...Made himself a martyr. Means that someone has to avenge him. He knows that I could easily defeat him again, and he doesn't have Edith this time around, so it has to be something that's not just a regular attack against me. Made me seem like an enormous threat. He doesn't have the resources to stage such an attack. He can't beat me himself, so what could his plan possibly be?'_

Peter realized that he doesn't have enough information to fill in the gaps, but he knew that whatever Beck's plan was meant that he'd have to do more than just clear his name.

Peter leapt from the rooftop and went on further until he reached the place that he was looking for.

The building in which Peter gave Beck the glasses.

Before he even entered the building, he knew that this was definitely not just a bar. It looked like an abandoned warehouse of some sort on the inside but was obviously far too tidy to really be abandoned (or at least not for very long). It wasn't worn down in the slightest.

Peter looked around the building for about 15 minutes, but as he expected, clues weren't just going to pop out of nowhere. Beck is far too smart to leave any obvious way to trace him.

He came across a large, open room that was mostly empty. However, he could see that part of the walls were just recently cemented in very specific spots. He observed said spots more closely before crouching down and dragging two of his fingers across the floor. He looked at said fingers and noticed a light powder that was clearly from cement over the black gloves of his suit.

'_This must have been where they tested the weapons. If they had these drones and weapons before Edith, then they had to have bought or built the ammunition somewhere… But how am I supposed to find out where that is?'_

Over the next two hours, Peter scanned and searched through every corner of the building. Light was starting to shine through the windows as it turned to morning, and Peter began to worry that they somehow managed to completely cover all of their tracks.

'_Building had to have been bought by one of them. But they would have used a fake identity. Even then, they must have an account to use for paying property taxes while they used the building. They definitely couldn't have used a completely abandoned building in the middle of the city—it would have drawn way too much attention. But how the hell am I gonna locate the government's tax records? Let alone for this specific building. It's not like I could just walk up to someone and ask for directions, and it would take me hours, if not days, to find the files for this particular building.'_

Peter grew more frustrated, worrying that he was at a dead end.

After calming himself down he thought of any way to find a lead. Then he remembered what Aunt May said over a week ago that allowed him to overcome Mysterio's illusions.

'"_Don't overthink it. Just trust your instincts, and you'll be fine."'_

Peter walked to the middle of the room and stood still. He closed his eyes while taking in deep breaths and focused on his other senses until the only things that were on his brain were his sense of touch and his hearing.

He could feel the entire room around him due to the differences in air pressure, with the details being added upon by his hearing. His quiet breaths alone formed a picture of the entire building's layout via their small sounds that bounced around.

He could hear cars and people outside from blocks away. It was these enhanced senses that he often had to limit in order to be able to focus in a fight and what he sometimes confused with his spider sense. He had never really tried to actually use them before and was surprised by how heightened they were.

He managed to close out everything outside of the building from his senses and focused only on the room itself.

He focused to pick up every little invisible detail about the room that even the most sensitive animals wouldn't be able to pick up. "The proportionate abilities of a spider" was really a drastic understatement of his powers.

'_Unnatural draft. Floor feels and sounds hollow beneath my feet. Peter Tingle…'_

He did his best on listening to his supernatural 6th sense and immediately felt like something was gently tugging him towards one of the walls. He followed the feeling in the direction of the tug until he was directly in front of the wall.

At that moment, something told him what to do.

He couldn't hear anyone or feel any kind of presence. He just knew what to do thanks to a completely wordless voice in the back of his mind.

'_...says right here.'_

He gently pushed against the wall with force that would require a normal human to use their full strength. The wall opened up in the shape of a door barring the knob, and a staircase going downward was revealed to him.

'_Wow. I did not at all think that would actually work.'_

He then walked down the staircase until he reached the bottom and estimated the stairs to go down approximately 15 feet.

He went around the corner to the right at the bottom of the stairs and walked through the hallway until he reached the large door to a room directly below the previous one.

He tried opening the door, but it was locked. He noticed that there was a slot for a keycard next to it.

He rolled his eyes at this and simply pulled the doors off of the hinges and placed the door against the wall of the hallway.

The room was filled with all kinds of tech. Computers, drones, various types of servers, all sorts of weapons, and more.

'_Well, it's not inside an active volcano, but it's still a pretty cool evil lair. This place must be where they store and transmit some information. There are network and database servers. They clearly don't intend on permanently vacating this building. Otherwise, they would have destroyed or moved all of this. Maybe I can access the servers for any clue as to where they are. Hopefully they mentioned it over these servers.'_

Peter walked to one of the computers and turned it on as he sat down and gripped the mouse. He'd normally have an AI datamine all of the information and sort through it to find anything important, but he'd have to look through the computer manually thanks to not installing an AI in his suit.

Once he turned on the computer, he cursed himself for thinking that it would be so easy when he saw "password:" followed by a blank space.

"I hate my life", he groaned.

Realizing that it was still early, he quickly ran out of the room and the building and made his way to a computer store that he had looked up during his vacation.

Within a few minutes, he was already there and swiftly made his way inside through the ventilation ducts without triggering any alarms.

He made sure that he only chose the cheapest equipment at the store and grabbed a computer, a router, some flash drives, an extension cord, and a bunch of other equipment and brought them all outside through the vents in a few trips back and forth.

'_I'm really, really sorry, store owner people. I promise that I'll make sure to pay you back as soon as possible'_, he thought to himself.

He felt tremendously awful for stealing the equipment, but he knew that he needed all of it to figure out Beck's plan and stop it.

Once he returned to the room, he disconnected one of the computers before throwing it to the side. After watching the computer explode into small pieces of plastic, he replaced it with the computer that he took from the store and plugged it into the monitor.

As he waited for the computer to start, he found a plug for the extension cord and used the other equipment to manually connect the computer to the database servers to download the information into a flash drive that he plugged into the computer.

Over the next hour, he downloaded all of the data and files onto each of the flash drives and examined them on the computer.

'_Alright, so we got the graphical and sound data for all of the various illusions. Oh, and it actually uses an AI to create the illusions? Explains how Mysterio could improvise them on the spot. Should probably piece the AI back together once I get home to make an illusion of my own.'_

He swapped in another flash drive in hopes of finding information on Beck's next plan.

'_Come on, there's gotta be something here. At least the locations of other servers that I could hack into? No, this is the data on the actual projectors, but it's not like I need it since I already found some in this room…'_

"Oh, hell yes!", he exclaimed while launching his fist into the air upon finding exactly what he was looking for.

'_They planned on meeting up in… Washington DC? Okay, I guess that it's back to the US with me, then. I should drop off these flash drives at Mrs. Stark's place so that they don't get damaged.' _

He then gathered all of the drives and put them in the pockets of his suit and made his way to the airport.

...

He spent the next few minutes traversing the city undetected until he got to the airport and went inside through the vents. Then he was met with a very unpleasant surprise as he heard the news from one of the TVs below.

"All international flights worldwide have been suspended until further notice due to potential security threats posed by Spider-Man."

'_Wait… they shutdown all international flights!? You've gotta be freaking kidding me!'_

He looked down through an opening in the vent to look at said TV when he was met by another surprise.

"We've also been instructed to forward a message from S.H.I.E.L.D Director, Nicholas Fury."

The screen then displayed a video of Nick Fury, who elaborated in the travel shutdown.

"Until we capture or eliminate this threat, all international travel services must be suspended. Peter Parker has an army of Stark drones ready to strike at any moment, and our world's militaries need to be prepared. Shield is currently doing its best to locate him, but he's gone dark. If you see any suspicious activity or think that you know where Peter Parker/Spider-Man might be, contact us immediately. I apologize for the inconvenience, but we must maintain security. That is all.'

At this, Peter's mouth and eyes were wide open in shock.

'_What the fu—'_


	4. Doubt

Author's note regarding Spider-Man's powers in this story:

For a reminder, Spider-Man's powers here aren't entirely based on the comics or entirely based on the MCU. It's an amalgamation of their various powers, so there are some displays of powers (mostly speed) that haven't been shown in the MCU, and I'll be enhancing displayed comic powers to MCU levels (he can run faster than in the comics and has better striking power, for example).

I'll be mixing/combining their powers as well as extending them so that they're more realistic.

What I mean by that last bit is, for example: In the comics, Spider-Man has enough leg strength to run at hundreds of miles per hour with ease, and in the MCU, he has enough leg strength to noticeably hurt Thanos with his kicks, but he's never been shown jumping more than a few dozen feet.

What I plan on doing is extending that leg strength to jumping so that he can jump a few thousand feat at maximum output, since it doesn't make sense for him to only be able to jump about 30 feet with that kind of power.

I'm going to apply that exact same philosophy to the rest of powers.

Either way, I hope you enjoy this chapter. I apologize for the severe lack of updates, but it's been difficult focusing on writing this due to school work and ADD. I don't plan on cancelling the story, but there will probably be some gaps in the updates.

* * *

'—_ck! What the actual hell is that emo-dressing pirate thinking!?' _Peter thought to himself as he started to crawl backwards through the vents to get outside. '_Shutting down all international flights!? That's actually insane! He already knows that Beck was lying, so why would he ever believe him out of nowhere like this!?'_

Peter crawled upwards to get to the roof of the airport through the vent. The opening on the AC unit that led him out of the vents was so small that even the most flexible unenhanced humans would scoff at an attempt to squeeze through it, meaning that it required only a moderate amount of effort for Spider-Man to do so as he contorted his body and limbs by a disturbing amount to fit through it.

Upon exiting the AC opening, he swiftly and sneakily ran to look over the ledge of the roof of the airport towards the parking lot and saw an enormous crowd of at least a few thousand people walking back to their cars or trying to fit themselves into one of the airport buses. What shocked Peter is that they all seemed concerningly content with the situation. Only a few people, an insignificant portion of the crowd, expressed any kind of protest.

'_Are they really accepting this? This is a complete, blatant violation of civil rights! And over what? Some nonsensical conspiracy theory of a future drone attack forged by a random guy that claimed to be from a freaking alternate universe!? Is this really how low this world has stooped? People are so scared that they'll readily turn against a 16-year-old and accuse him of being a supervillain without even a scrap of evidence and then throw away all their rights out of fear?' _

With a single light thrust of his right leg, he hopped twenty feet away from the ledge of the building and walked past the AC unit as he began speaking to himself.

"I get it, everything that's happened has been super scary, but c'mon! Anyone with a half-functioning brain should be able to see that this is total bullshit!

And I can't even tell them! No one in the entire planet is even going to trust me at this point. I'd need to disprove the identity reveal before anyone will believe me over Beck."

It was then that Peter swiftly made a realization.

"But I can't even do that!" He yelled in frustration. "I have to stop Beck's stupid plan first, and that could take a month for I know!"

He sat down out of exasperation not too far away from the vents that he came out of, very frustrated with how tedious and potentially consequential his predicament is.

"Why can't I ever get help with stuff like this? Cap had Falcon, Mr. Stark had War Machine, and just about everyone else has some form of help! Seriously, some help would be super incredibly useful for this!"

He then let out a loud groan of incredibly strong irritation once he made another, drastically worse realization as he stood back up and began pacing back and forth across the roof.

"And the Avengers! I get that they're all either retired or have other stuff to do, but seriously? Not a single one of them have stepped up to vouch for me?

I took a dozen space missiles to the face while I was in a very physically weakened state to keep the gauntlet away from Thanos! I still have nightmares about that, and this is how they thank me!?

Y'know, I would've thought that they'd offer to help me out with at least a mere public statement! That would take away at least 90 percent of my worries! Isn't that what a team is supposed to do? Be there for each other for support?"

He sped up the speed of his pacing out of annoyance towards the team that he previously thought considered him a friend.

"I went through the most shit out of everyone there, yet they go ahead and treat me like this? They just decide to leave me to fend for myself?

'Oh, you fought off a hoard of killer space dogs that are individually strong enough to instantly rip a normal person in half and will probably have nightmares about them piling on top of you for the rest of your life?'

'You were forced to protect the very same weapon that brutally killed you while a spaceship played "pin the spider" with a freaking missile barrage?'

'You did all of this while your powers weren't even working properly and being the youngest person here?'

'Oh, cool, now could you go ahead and just go back to a school you barely recognize while the rest of us don't have to endure even a fraction of the suffering you're put through?'"

Peter let out a sigh of disappointment as he leaned his back into the AC and slid downwards to sit with his back against the metal.

'_Uggghhh! I don't mean to sound selfish. I just wish someone else did something kind for me for once instead of it ALWAYS being the other way around.'_

He let out another sigh and tried to put himself back on track.

'_I shouldn't be focusing on this.' _He internally reminded himself. '_I'm angry and have every right to be, but getting mad isn't gonna help anybody. I'll confront them about it after I'm through with this. For now, I need to worry about figuring out Beck's evil plan and how I'm going to stop it._

_Hmmm... It said that they went to DC, meaning that whatever they planned on doing must have been something big. Probably something to do with SHIELD since Fury's being a dickhead. Their next step was likely visiting Fury for planning out whatever they're now doing._

_Actually, more importantly, how am I even supposed to get there?'_

He was stranded in a foreign country basically on the other side of the world from his next destination with no easy means to get back to the US. The only way back to North America alone on foot would be to run across Russia and jump or swim across the Bering Strait, which was thousands of miles away. He'd gone across multiple smaller states within less than an hour on foot, but he had never once ran THAT far.

He'd have to run more than halfway across the entire world.

Peter stood up while still leaning his arm against the large AC unit as he continued to analyze the situation. However, his thoughts were cut short when he heard the groaning of the metal and a few screws snapping. Looking to the AC unit at his side, he noticed that he had accidentally pushed himself into it, causing the metal to take up the shape of his arm in a rather deep dent, and the AC itself was almost ripped from the roof due to the force.

The accident just made him feel even more frustrated about the situation as he stepped away from the machine to continue his thoughts.

'_Even with my crazy sprinting speed and stamina, I'd probably burn too many calories to even stand by the time I reached the other side of Russia. I mean, it's been close to an entire day since I last had something to eat or drink. Or even slept for that matter. I doubt that I could manage doing THAT even with my body's enhanced energy proficiency.'_

Stowing away on a boat would take even longer, so that wasn't an option. He DEFINITELY wasn't going to steal someone's plane.

Going at his jogging pace would take him at least 3–4 days to get to the mainland US, and he didn't want to be forced to kill any wild animals for food during that time.

"Ugh… seriously, Beck… screw you. I hope you choke on an acidic pinecone."

Despite his obvious mental instability, Beck was a strategic mastermind, and he almost certainly had something up his sleeve.

'_He probably had Fury shut down international flights purely to prevent me from stowing away on a plane as a way to travel.'_

And regarding that fact, Peter never would have expected SHIELD to intervene against him, let alone shut down all of the flights for this. He definitely didn't very much expect SHIELD to help unless it was convenient for them, but he didn't think that they would actually go against him.

'_Maybe Fury was working with them from the start? I very much doubt that he's dumb enough to believe this bullshit. I mean, he already knows I put Edith back on the design floor for reprogramming. It's not even supposed to be functional for at least another 3 months, and he knows that I'm a bad liar and couldn't have lied about that._

_He's supposed to be one of the most cunning people and THE most paranoid person on the entire planet. There's no way that he was tricked by Beck. They've gotta be working together.'_

Peter stood back up and paced back and forth on the roof upon realizing the fact that yet another person turned out to be using him.

'_I can't believe I trusted him! Both of them! I should have known from the start that they were no good! Why do I have to be like this!? Why am I always so stupidly trusting of people I just met!?_

_Now, because of my idiocy, not only has my life been completely screwed, but they're also planning on some world domination bullcrap and, thus far, succeeding at it. And it's entirely because of me! Once again, I screwed up beyond all belief!'_

His pacing became more intense to match his emotions.

"I'm so sick of this!" He yelled in anger. "I'm supposed to be a freaking superhero! People count on me to be there for them, so why do I keep screwing everything up!? The Ferry! Grand Central! Doctor Conners!"

Peter then leaned his head into the AC out of guilt as he came to a realization that he unfortunately made at least every week.

"The gauntlet… Why do I always have to come back to that? Why do I always have to remind myself that half the universe died because of me? That none of that would have happened if I had just pulled a little harder… if I had just filled the inside with webbing… if I had just not been caught off-guard by Thanos?

Because of me, half the universe died, and countless more went through horrible suffering! All because I'm too incompetent too take off a freaking glove that has a few security measures!

The guilt once again quickly turned to rage as he began yelling once more and stepped away from the AC.

"FUCK! Why do I even do this!? It's clear that I can't superhero for shit, so what's even the point!? All I EVER do get people hurt!"

The emotions were overwhelming. The feeling of guilt and subsequent anger towards himself as well as Beck. The remorse over possibly forever losing his chance of having a normal life, one of the few things that he wished to never lose above all else, right alongside MJ and Aunt May. All of it just collected into a metaphorical pot and boiled into rage.

The very pissed spider-powered teenager brought his fist up with a scream as he sent it towards the large AC unit. He was about to punch it straight into the stratosphere in a thousand tiny pieces but stopped himself as he realized that destroying public property wasn't going to fix anything. It wasn't going to help him or the people that had been manipulated. All it would do is hurt someone else, and that was the very last thing that he wanted.

Peter tried to calm down as best as he could, but he was still very much angered and disappointed at himself for being tricked by Beck and Fury.

'_How could I have been so stupid!? I can balance complex chemical equations in my sleep, make minor advancements in string theory on a whim, and am an expert in dozens of fields of study, but I can't tell when someone is lying right to my face?'_

He looked down out of shame and disappointment in himself as he sat back down on the roof and spoke to himself aloud upon realizing what really caused this.

"No... It wasn't just my naïveté that caused this. Not this time. It was me going back on Uncle Ben's final words.

I was so concerned with my own personal life, and because of that, I went against the one idea that I swore to dedicate myself to.

I was so afraid of the responsibility to the point that I gave a superweapon entrusted and given to me by one of the only two people that ever actually believed in me to a freaking stranger. It wasn't my flaw; it was my FAULT that led to this moment. It was my own selfishness that caused all of this."

Peter grabbed and rubbed his head in stress at his uncertainty and apparent lose-lose situation.

"But whenever I DO try to help, even more people die or get hurt because I screw up. It seems that no matter what I do, someone's going to die because of ME!

What am I supposed to do?! I don't want anyone to get hurt, but it feels like it's me that does the most damage! It feels like I get more people hurt or killed than I save!

What does that great responsibility even mean? Being a superhero or just not exploiting my powers? Is it my responsibility to stay out of it and let someone else handle something so that I don't screw it up? I don't even know. I don't even know what the right thing to do is here."

The feelings of guilt and inadequacy that often plagued his mind were only amplified by the stress. Emotions so strong that they forced him to sit down and lean his back against the AC unit, wishing that he never even became Spider-Man because of how badly it's affected his psyche.

'_Why'd that stupid spider have to bite me? Spiders don't even like climbing on people, let alone biting them! That was, AT MOST, a one in a decillion chance for that spider to condemn me to this. _

_I could have been spending this time studying and not managing to build up the courage to ask MJ out. I could have actually done something with MY life by now. I could have just been a normal kid and maybe grow out of my geekiness on my own._

_But no, I had to suffer being in a statistically damn-near impossible accident that led to this. An accident that led me through pure suffering all the way to here. Thousands of miles away from home in a foreign country, by myself, and having to stop a world domination plot that I caused. _

_Really, what could I have possibly done to deserve this? What could anyone do to deserve a life like the one I now have? I was just a nerdy kid that was too geeky to have more than one friend. All I really did was study and fanboy over science fiction, so why'd this have to happen to me? Why couldn't it happen to someone that could actually handle this?_

_I'm a teenager in the summer. I should be hanging out with friends and having fun._

_But instead, I'm left having to answer an existential question about myself. About Spider-Man. I'm left with a choice between two options that no one in the universe should have to make.'_

Peter let out a saddened sigh for the decision he was going to have to make. All he really wanted to do was magically get rid of his powers, go back to being a normal kid and hang out with Ned and MJ, and forget that anything revolving Spider-Man ever happened. But of course, that's not a possibility. His powers were permanently fused into his core genetic coding and beyond.

He wished that he could just lay down and cry all of the stress out. And punch a city-wide crater on the moon, pretending that it was Beck's face, of course. But he knew that he couldn't just submit to his predicament. He'd have to answer the question at some time or another, and that time was now.

'_Should I really continue? Should I really keep being Spider-Man after I finish with this? All being Spider-Man seems to do is bring everyone pain, including myself. I cause more problems than I solve, and when it comes down to everyone's lives being on the line, more often than not, I screw up one way or another. And I know that I'll end up forcing myself to butt in and try to help whenever something comes up as long as I continue being Spider-Man._

_My grades have slipped because I don't do my homework. I almost didn't pass this year because of the tardies. My social life is usually a mess. I'll end up having a TON of difficulty going to college and getting a job if doing so will even be possible._

_I have to live with seeing and solving extremely brutal murders and other crimes. I have to console victims when, truly, I just want to throw up because of the sickening depravity of what happened._

_I have to live with seeing the results of every crime I failed to stop in time. I've had to feel the guilt of countless failures that got people killed._

_I'm 16, and I've already almost died on multiple occasions. Hell, I already HAVE died._

_A lot of people think I'm a freak just because I can stick to walls and easily bench press buildings._

Peter didn't really need to do much more thinking. It was obvious to him what the only good choice was.

'_No…' _Peter firmly shook his head

'_I'm done. I can't do this anymore. I wasn't meant to have this power. I wasn't meant to have this responsibility. I'm not cut out for any of it. It should have been someone capable like Captain America. Not me. I can't deal with any of this.'_

_As soon as I'm finished hopefully fixing my mess, that's it.'_

Peter reluctantly walked over to the edge, ready to resort to running the distance to help his loved ones and save the world from its idiotic self.

"No more Spider-Man."

* * *

Mac Gargan followed the SHIELD agent to his room for the night. He was more than surprised when they showed up at his cell and ordered his release. He told them to piss off (only in a much more vulgar manner), of course, but then they mentioned the Spider-Bitch, which immediately got his blood boiling.

He was very disappointed that no one had slit his throat already, but SHIELD could apparently help him do that himself, so that WAY more than made up for that fact.

They told him that they had some sort of procedure planned out that would give him the basic superpowers of the Tier-7 magnitude. He had no idea whatsoever as to what Tier-7 even means, but it was apparently super important.

Of course, he couldn't give a crap about any of that. All he cared about was getting his revenge by slowly and painfully killing the teenager that so badly humiliated him.

Unfortunately for Mac, he'd have to work with another person in taking down Spider-Man. He didn't know who it was, but Mac wasn't the type to work well with others unless he wanted it, which he certainly didn't in this case.

The agent approached the door in the middle of the hallway to what was presumably Mac's room and opened it. Mac didn't seem to take the hint, as he just stood there for a few seconds, to which the agent responded by rolling her eyes and gesturing for him to walk inside, which he subsequently did.

"So nice of you to actually show up, Gargan." Nick Fury greeted from the center of the room, not even facing the door.

"Yeah, and you're, uh… Prick Furry, or somethin'?" Mac sarcastically responded as he looked around the large room, which included two bathrooms. He noticed that there were two small beds a good 20 feet apart and zero decorations or windows to the place.

"I suggest you watch what you say, Gargan. I don't think that you'd like to go back to prison with a cell mate of our choosing." Fury responded as he turned towards Gargan.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, pal; say, when do I get to kill the little runt anyhow?"

"When we want you to. And you aren't just going to run up and kill him. Despite his seemingly-innocent appearance, Parker is potentially a very dangerous person with a hell of a lot more experience than you have. You won't be taking him on by yourself under any circumstances."

"Pfft. Watch me. I've been waiting to kill the punk ever since the ferry. I'm gonna be mounting his head to one of my walls."

"No you won't, and that is final. You'll be working with and taking orders from your partner. Someone you know very well, actually."

"Who?" Gargan asked with an eyebrow raised in suspicion.

"Why, I am so glad you asked. Dan, you wanna get in here?"

Following Fury's call for the unseen person, a 6'8 man with a muscular build and a slightly darker complexion than Mac's entered the room from the hallway. He had black hair in a buzzcut as well as light yet noticeable stubble on his face

Within the blink of an eye, his entrance made Mac go from a hardass criminal with a grudge to a shocked and confused man that almost seemed like a child. Mac was left completely speechless.

After a few seconds of silence, the other brother finally spoke up with a deep, firm voice.

"It's good to see you again, Mac."

The sentence was quickly spoken and purposeful just like all of his words often were over the past two decades, but there was an evident bit of reluctance this time.

Dan avoided looking into his brother's eyes, opting instead to look to Mac's side and at a slight downward angle without focusing his sight on anything in particular.

Mac couldn't believe what he was seeing. He actually could not believe it and had to check his eyes. He never thought that he would see that face, albeit much more mature now, ever again, and he honestly didn't want to.

The younger brother was made into a stuttering mess, unable to get out his words as he stared at his brother with wide eyes in disbelief.

"D— Wha—Jus—."

After a few more moments of stuttering out the beginnings of words without ever actually finishing them, he turned to Fury, who had already left the room without Mac ever noticing.

"I'm sure that you have a lot of questions, Mac." The older brother began. "And I'll answer all of them. But you've gotta relax, Baby Bro."

Mac shot him an insulted and incredulous look in response to that nickname and managed to get back to his normal calmly insane attitude.

"You serious? You just— You just run off, never say anything to me for years and come back thinking that we're gonna be cool?

You think you can just run off and join the army or some shit, never see me or say a word to me ever since, and just come back and expect me to not hate your guts for it?"

"Mac, I know I screwed up. I know you're—" Dan couldn't finish before Mac interrupted while walking up to him.

"No. You don't at all know. Not a single goddamn clue. You think it'd get any better after you left? Is that it? You don't think that I'd just have to live a shitty life all on my own?

Listen... I don't give a shit about what you have to say. As far as I'm concerned, you're just a random douchebag trying to steal my kill. I'm only telling this to you once, Dan. His. Head. Is. Mine. That's all there is to any of this, and you better get that through your skull. I'm not speaking or interacting with you in any way unless its to kill him. That's final."

Mac wasn't really one for intense emotions. Whenever something serious that was beyond what he could normally emotionally handle, he opted to just toss it to the side so that he wouldn't have to actually deal with it.

Unfortunately for Dan, that was him at the moment as Mac walked away into a bathroom to prepare for bed, leaving Dan feeling dissappointed. However, he wasn't one to show emotions either, or even properly feel them for that matter. One of the effects of all his training and experience was his obviously hardened mindset.

Dan let out a sigh as he too walked to the opposite bathroom after a few seconds to prepare for bed, not speaking or interacting with Mac in any way for the rest of the night.

* * *

In another room in the same compound, Fury was in the middle of a conversation with his trusted right-hand-woman, Maria Hill.

"How long do you think shutting down the flights will slow him down?" She asked him.

"A week at the very least. The kid's proven to be fast, but not THAT fast. We should have more than enough time to prepare our Washington unit. Did you get any word regarding Blonsky?" Fury asked.

"Yes. He's being put through intense conditioning as we speak. He should be ready within less than a week. Are we gonna send him after Parker?"

"Maybe. Truth-be-told, I'm very curious as to how that would play out. That fight might end up trashing an entire state or two. But it's a bit too soon either way. I want to continue with the plan. Try to wear Parker down physically and mentally as much as possible. I want him at his worst. There's no need to rush this."

"Yes, sir."

After a few minutes of discussing information regarding Peter Parker, an agent walked through into the room after a brief knock on the door.

"Sir?" He spoke to Nick Fury.

"What is it?"

"We have eyewitness reports of a figure that's most likely Spider-Man in Prague."

Fury let out a smirk that he then immediately hid from the agent. '_Good. All according to plan.'_

"Uhh. An individual reported a 'Night Money' fitting Spider-Man's description taking down a bunch of thugs before jumping away…?" The agent reported with a confused expression and tone.

"I want satellite confirmation on his precise whereabouts. Scan all across Eastern Europe and Russia. When you find him, I want you to send a squadron of at least 12 fighter jets, fully automated, equipped with thermal guided aiming, GAUs, heatseekers, and repulser weaponry."

"Will do, sir." The agent obeyed before leaving the room.

"Seems that we just found ourselves a golden opportunity to wear him down, Ms. Hill." Fury spoke with a smile.

* * *

The next morning, the two brothers were woken up by an agent and led out of the room into the hallway.

The older of the two, seeing his brother's evident anger, raised his arm up and tried to speak out, but he couldn't find the courage to do anything beyond merely opening his mouth. He sighed in defeat before going back to focusing on walking down the hall.

After a few minutes of walking, the agent and the two brothers entered a large room that was obviously for medical purposes. It didn't have anything that you'd expect at a civilian hospital, as it wasn't meant for civilian patients or their families, but it had that hospital kind of atmosphere to it. There were also two windows to the two seperate operating rooms and an ensemble of chairs facing them as well as a small crowd of people dressed in suits along with Nick Fury, who was talking with a man with a buzzcut and brown hair and a fancy black suit, to occupy said seats.

Upon entering the room, the agent walked away, and Fury and his acquaintance went over to greet the brothers, who were still standing at the door.

"And these two must be the future team members?" The man in the suit asked Fury as he shook both of their hands, which Mac rolled his eyes at.

"They are." Fury nodded his head. "The younger one is a little wild, but that won't be an issue."

Dan looked at the unnamed manned with a curious look. "Sorry, I don't believe I've heard of you, Mr…"

"Osborn. Norman Osborn" He said while gesturing to himself in a grandiose manner. "I'm the lead funder of this project and will also have a more… hands on role once things are ready to go. I've heard of your work, and I must say I'm very impressed. I'm certain that you'll make a great member of the team."

"Uhh, thank you. But, what do you mean by team?" Dan asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I'll explain everything in due time. But now is not the time for that. Fury will explain the operation to you."

"So, you two, everything is ready to go." Fury informed. "In a few minutes, the operation is going to begin. I'll repeat what was told to both of you earlier. There are some moderate risks to this procedure. It's very possible that you'll both die a horrible, agonizing death. So, don't tell me I didn't warn you if figurative shit hits the fan. Or literal shit if things go very bad."

"Thank you, Fury." Dan replied. "I understand the risks and am willing to go through with it."

"Okay, and you, Mac?"

"Hey, If it means killing that little punk spider, I'm up for anything." He answered with a shrug.

"Great. Mr. Osborn, you ready?"

"I'd like to say one thing to our supporters first, if you would allow."

"Of course. Go right ahead." Fury agreed as he nodded in the direction of the crowd of people.

"Thank you." Osborn replied before walking to the front of the room and the crowd.

"Everyone, everyone, please take a seat."

The crowd of people each stopped talking to one another and occupied one of the many chairs in the room.

"I'd like to thank you all for being here and supporting this endeavor. After Spider-Man, who's name is now known to us as Peter Parker, was exposed for being a terrorist—"

"Yes! That web-slinging murderer needs to be brought to justice!" Yelled an elderly man. The same one that broadcasted the revealing of Spider-Man's identity.

Osborn stared blankly at the man for a few seconds following the outburst before continuing his speech without showing his internal desire to throw him out of a window..

"—by the now-decreased Quentin Beck, it's come to much of our attention that Earth has gone far too long without the proper oversight that it's needed so greatly.

For far too long, our planet has been left unsecured. Our governments have been too weak and our superheroes, thus far, too unreliable. What we need is guiding figures under government control for the entire human race. To not only protect, but to also lead humanity as beacons of strength and authority.

That starts this very day, right now. These two wonderful volunteers, Mac and Dan Gargan have offered to be the first step towards that goal. The first step towards these... Prime Avengers. The team that works as an answer to the world's greatest problem rather than a group that blindly eliminates threats.

This is it, ladies and gentlemen."

A minute later. a doctor stepped out of the operating room on the right and spoke towards everyone. "Everything's ready to go. Mac, you're in room 1, on the left. Dan, you're room two, on the right."

Dan was about to say good luck to Mac, but the younger brother was already walking into his room, leaving Dan once again disappointed at his inability to properly reconnect with his brother.

Mac changed into a hospital gown, as was instructed, and laid down on a flat bed that had a bunch of multi-tubed syringes on the side before he was put into the straps of the bed.

"Okay," one of the three doctors began "we're about to administer a very potent genetically constructed retrovirus." She explained while pointing towards the syringes. "It will engage in selective gene splicing to modify your body on the genetic level, granting you various superpowers. The details regarding them will be explained to you the day after the procedure following testing. Any questions?"

"Nope."

"And you'll have to decide on a codename for the public and for usage in operation reports. Do you have anything in mind or would you like to choose later."

"I'm thinking… Scorpion."

"Okay." She said while copying it down on a paper set in a clipboard she was carrying."

* * *

In the other room, Dan was going through the exact same procedure.

"Okay, do you want any questions?" The doctor asked.

"Yeah. This isn't going to mess up by senses, right? My eyesight and hearing should be fine?"

"It should actually improve them." The doctor answered. :"Although we can't say exactly how much. It ultimately depends on how exactly the retrovirus interacts with your DNA, which we can only really make broad estimates of."

"Right. Good."

"Now, you'll have to decide on a codename for the public and operation reports. Do want to decide now or later?"

"Yeah, now… Let's see…"

Dan gave it a good 10 seconds of contemplation before finally giving the doctor an answer.

"Call me… Kraven... Kraven the Hunter."

* * *

So, yeah, that happened.

Since the MCU likes to change things up when it comes to their characters, I thought that I should as well. I'm not going to change Kraven to the point that he's an essentially different character, but I wanted to somewhat modernize him and make him less campy, and you'll see those differences later.

I believe that it's a neat change to Kraven's character that adds an interesting new dynamic to Scorpion and Kraven (who I REALLY want to work together as duo villains in the next Spider-Man movie). Really hope that it's not too cheesy/corny.

I also wanted to give a bit of a separate arc to Peter that revolves around him having emotional distress, which is a frequent thing in the comics, and he's given up being Spider-Man before. However, those have always been to his personal life being dumped on while Spider-Man here is dealing with strong issues of guilt and self confidence on top of his personal life being hurt as well as some traumatic events.

I think that it makes sense to have it this way. After all, while Peter is insanely powerful, at the end of the day, he's still a kid, and a very good kid at that. It makes sense for him to screw up every now and then due to poor judgement and for him to also blow his failures way out of proportion and blame himself more than he should.

Also, he's undoubtedly seen the absolute worst the world has to offer while stopping crime, which can be very disturbing for anyone, let alone a totally altruistic and innocent teenager. He definitely wouldn't want to see that kind of stuff again.

Combine all of that with the fact that being Spider-Man is a huge burden on his personal life (at least it should be), and he's definitely not going to want to continue any longer than he has to.

I hope that people enjoy this take on MCU Spider-Man, as it's unfortunately pretty unique in the sense that he's not treated like some vulnerable little child side character that revolves around Iron Man (like almost all MCU Spidey fanfics do) and is actually the active protagonist of the story here.

I'd also like some feedback on my writing style. It's a lot shorter and vague compared to most writers' when it comes to painting pictures and the actions of characters. If it feels like everything goes by too fast, if there's not enough information/details in the scenes, or if it just feels emotionless/bland, I'd very much appreciate input and advice to fix that if it's indeed a problem.


End file.
